REMIX :: Crystal Growth
by AccioAkito
Summary: The story of Harry Potter remixed in an alturnate universe setting where teachers and students swap places. This story contains slash HPSS and will contain mature content in later chapters.
1. Step One: Prepare the Ingredients

Severus Snape sighed into his seat on the bench. For the first time in his life he was in a room, surrounded by his peers. There was no fear of being beaten, though Severus still felt a twinge of guilt in knowing that there was no one left to protect his mother now. Even at eleven years old, Snape's knowledge of hexes and curses was probably unmatched by any other Hogwarts student. Not that he could know this.

As the last child was sorted into a house (by the hissing around him Severus could tell it was a Gryffindor though he wasn't paying much attention). The Headmaster Dumbledore began bellowing the school song, and the older students that had cared enough to learn it followed in suit. Snape used this moment to glance over at those surrounding him. Very few sang and, of the few that did, none attempted to hide the blatant mockery in their voices. Severus was sure he even heard a few interesting alterations on the song. Smirking, he allowed himself to relax and bask in the hope that, for once, he might fit in.

"Hey – you're the Prince boy, right?" hissed a blond boy sitting to his left.

Snape tore his eyes from the front of the table and glanced over. He decided that this older student was probably in his fifth or sixth year and his hair was far more white than blond. The soft strands fell regally to his shoulders and the fair hair gave no air of aging as it no doubt would on any other head. Snape frowned and stroked his own oily locks. A nervous habit, though to anyone else he merely looked bored.

"Yeah. You're that Malfoy boy aren't you?"

The blond smirked at Snape's emphasis on the word 'boy' and his refusal to concede to knowing his full name. Because everyone knew Lucius Malfoy. But if this child wanted to play the game, he didn't mind. After all, who knew how to assert their supremacy better than a Malfoy? "Since you made it into Slytherin," he drawled, "perhaps we can forgive you for the more.. unfortunate side of your lineage. Snape paused as if to consider this. "Perhaps," he murmured quietly, "since _you're_ in Slytherin I'll be able to forgive the more unfortunate side of your personality."

"Feisty for a first year, aren't you?" Malfoy sneered, thought the effect was ruined since he was chuckling almost warmly at Snape's quip.

Though he plastered a defensive scowl on his face, Severus began to eat what had suddenly appeared on the platters before him with a much lighter heart than he'd had upon sitting down.

- - - - -

"Prince"

"My name is Severus Snape."

"Would you rather I called you Snape then?"

Severus bit his lip in irritation. "Prince is fine," he sighed finally. Malfoy grinned at him as if he'd just beaten 'Prince' at something profound. And, he supposed, it was profound in a way. While Severus had always hated his father, he'd never thought to disconnect from him. Not in name anyway.

"Did you want something?"

"Look up there," Lucius nodded up at the dais where the teachers sat talking and eating breakfast. Snape glanced up uneasily. While he had always been confident in his own abilities, he had little to no interaction with others his own age. Stupid as they seemed, what if their abilities and knowledge far surpassed his own?

"Slytherin help each other get by. Since you don't seem to have many friends yet, I'll be giving you a summary of each teacher and what you can expect. What's you're favorite subject?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," Severus murmured without hesitating. Malfoy nodded approvingly. "You're to be disappointed. The teacher is the one there with the mop of red for hair. Professor Ronald Weasley. Dumb as a brick. Scared of most things he tries telling us to defend. Awful lecturer. Pity he didn't die in the war."

Snape blinked at that. "The war… did he do something there? Is that how he got the job despite his mediocrity?"

"Probably, though I've never actually heard of his accomplishments. He got the position because of the teacher to his right."

"Harry Potter?" Severus whispered. He'd heard that the 'great savior' was a teacher but hadn't given his actual presence much though. Or that he might be his own teacher. But next to the bright haired professor sat a man with piercing green eyes and a scar that shown prominently on his forehead even from across the room. He was deep in conversation with a first year Gryffindor with similar features right down to the wild black hair and wiry silver glasses.

"Yeah, Professor Harry Potter who lived and defeated a dark lord just as Albus Dumbledore himself had. That Gryffindor is his son James." Suddenly Malfoy's voice dropped below a whisper and he hissed into Snape's ear "you know, they say he's been after that Dark Arts position for years. Apparently Dumbledore says he's afraid it will bring back bad memories. But I think he's just afraid."

"Of what?"

"Of the temptation. They say Potter's the most powerful wizard of our time. Had to be, to kill Voldemort and all. I say Dumbledore's petrified that he'll see the appeal of the Dark Arts. Be drawn to them."

"MISTER MALFOY" came a bark from behind them.

"Oh, why good morning Professor Granger. Or do you prefer to be called Professor Weasley now? I wasn't sure but I wanted to congratulate you on your marriage this summer. Father tells me it was lovely."

Snape couldn't help but notice a grimace on her face as she muttered "And how could I not invite such an important figure as a _Malfoy_." She shook her head suddenly as if in remembering. "Lucius Malfoy you will not be filling this first year's head with nonsense about one of your professors. Harry – Professor Potter is about as much a dark lord as you are a Hufflepuff" Malfoy gagged at the sound of himself being mentioned in the same sentence as Hufflepuff. "Furthermore, if I hear you berate teachers in such a disrespectful manner again you will receive a detention and points will be taken." When Lucius opened his mouth to argue, Granger stopped him with a menacing glare. "I understand that you have a right to discuss your professors' teaching methods, but I do not think this extends to berating their hair, intelligence or how they obtained their particular position."

Malfoy reddened a bit at this and, looking satisfied, Professor Granger stormed over to the head table, no doubt to fume about what she'd overheard.

"That's Professor Granger, if you didn't realize by now. Usually descent. Knows her subject, though sticks far too close to the books if you ask me. Fabulous body."

"What subjects do she and Professor Potter teach?"

"Oh, she's got Charms and Potter is the Potions Master."

- - - - -

"I just feel like I should be insulted!" Ron huffed angrily.

"Well… _are_ you actually insulted?"

"Not really. It's not that I care what her last name is. But we're MARRIED. What if people think she's ashamed? Or worse, I heard some Slytherins whispering… saying that maybe I'll be changing my name to Granger!"

Harry sighed. He'd always thought Ron was terrific at making a big deal over nothing at all.

"Look, if you don't mind, and it's easier for her then I don't see what the problem is. Who gives a shit what the Slytherins are saying! You're a teacher. Dock points!"

They laughed together at this, each turning back to their lunch. It was now only a few weeks into the term and Hermione was no doubt in the library studying up on something or other. It had been a while since they'd had a real one on one conversation, so Harry and Ron were taking full advantage of the few hours they did have. Teaching took more time than they'd have liked and while originally they'd schemed of taking the positions and partying every night after classes and detentions were through, the sheer time consuming nature of the job didn't allow for much free time at all. Grading papers and planning lessons had barely registered as a factor in teaching from the point of view of the student. But now they knew that even holidays did not make much space in the way of relaxing with friends.

"Speaking of Slytherin, look over there. You see that one? With the greasy black hair and enormous nose?"

"Severus Snape. Best student in my potions class. Probably the best student I've ever had. He's a first year but sometimes I think that he'd shame my NEWTs students if I put them in the same class."

Ron sighed, "He's like that in DADA too. The little brat is making my life miserable. Knows the subject better than you, I'll wager. And doesn't hesitate to correct me or insult me or berate me. But the little ass phrases everything so that I can't even take points for it!"

"His nose isn't that big."

Harry tilted his head as he stared down at the eleven year old boy. As if feeling the gaze upon him, Severus turned away from his lunch and their eyes met for a brief moment. Then, as if flustered, the child blinked, bit his lip and turned back to say something to Lucius Malfoy who was sitting at his side attempting, from the looks of it, to transfigure his glass of pumpkin juice into Champaign.

"Oh well. Least I can be happy knowing he doesn't have any friends anyway. Doesn't even talk to anyone but Malfoy. And god knows Lucius wouldn't even know the meaning of the word 'friend'."

"James doesn't like him much," Harry muttered absentmindedly.

Ron looked nervous for a moment. "Er… Harry, I've actually been wanting to talk to you about James. Look… I know Cho left you… and it's been tough… and you never had parents growing up so you might not know exactly how to go about it…"

"What are you trying to say – that I'm a bad father?"

"NO! Not at all Harry! It's just that lately… well some of the other teachers and I have noticed that James has been… well…"

"Out with it already!"

"James is becoming a bully. He and Serius are relentless with some students and, as annoying as he may be, I've noticed that Snape kid's the target most of the time…"

Harry signed again. He'd heard it said before. James was a good kid but took pride in intimidating the other students. Considering his past, Harry wanted nothing more than for this to be untrue. After all his entire life had been plagued by one bully after another… Dudly and his Aunt and Uncle, Draco and Voldemort and the Death Eaters… His entire life could be summed up by simply addressing his tormentors. It was almost unbearable to think that his own son might be turning into one. But on the other hand, they were no longer at home. They were at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and just as he could not favor his son above other students he also could not punish him more or unfairly. So until he caught James in the act there wasn't much he could do about his interactions with other students.

Ron had apparently decided that he'd reached his limit for conversation because he sat quietly for the rest of the meal.

- - - - -

"Today we're going to fight a bogart!"

Professor Weasley grinned broadly as he looked out at his class. It only widened when he saw that brat Snape pale to an even whiter shade than he usually was. Wide eyed and mouth gaping like that, he looked almost too innocent. But Ron knew better.

"Get in line. I'm going to tell you how to fight it and then I want each of you to take a stab!"

This was one lesson he couldn't fail at. He still remembered vividly his own moment of triumph as the spider fell to the ground defeated. Bloodly spiders. Bloody Aragog. And what was wrong with Hagrid anyway! Sending two second years into the forbidden forest into a nest of hungry spiders! Ron looked up from his internal outrage to find his class staring at him. Snape had returned to his normal yellowy-white tinge and had an eyebrow raised to match the sneer on his lips. Ron almost growled, but barked out instructions for the class instead. God damned spiders.

Snape allowed himself a moment of satisfaction as his teacher's dim-wittedness was made apparent once again. Was he cursing spiders under his breath? Severus had to bit his cheek to keep from laughing out loud. A Defense Against the Dark Arts professor afraid of an insect. Ridiculous. Snape laughed at his own pun. Of course he knew how a Bogart was defeated. These creatures were very basic; he himself had read about them in all the beginner level DADA books. While on the first day he had been frightened to think he might be behind, Snape was rather disgusted by his peers to find how far ahead he actually was. Though, he reasoned, it was obvious the Muggle-borns would not be at the same stage, surely those from wizarding families had managed to pick up a _book_ during the first eleven years of their lives!

His mind flew back to the Bogart that his professor had just released into the room and paled once more. He wasn't even sure what his greatest fear _was_. But he was sure it was nothing he wanted to share with the class. Especially since this one was with the Gryffindors. Weasley didn't even pretend that he didn't favor them and was constantly gushing over that idiot James. But Snape knew he was the best student in the class, even if his teacher was loath to admit it.

A bit ahead of him, Snape watched James' friend Remus Lupin step shakily in front of the Bogart. He breathed a sigh of relief when a blurry white sphere appeared in front of him and shouted "Ridiculus" turning it into a purple bouncy ball. Snape frowned and wondered what the shining orb had been, but then James stepped up and Snape was far more interested in uncovering some dirt on him than he was with figuring out the mysteries of his sickly little friend.

James strolled over to the Bogart and dramatically whipped his cloak to the ground. The Gryffindors awed and squealed in response. Severus thought of rolling his eyes, but decided it was best to pay attention lest he miss this piece of insight into the bane of his existence.

To his utter shock the bouncy ball transformed into none other than his Potions Master and a pretty Asian woman. The two had furious glares on their faces that were first directed at each other and then at James. Drama forgotten, the younger Potter whispered "Mum? Dad?" Harry Potter scoffed at him. "I don't know how you can address us so casually. It's your fault you know." The Asian woman nodded, "We were perfectly happy until YOU came along James. And you wonder why I haven't bothered to see you in five years!"

Snape looked over at the Professor who was staring, shocked and immobile, at the couple. Or ex-couple it would seem. Finally James managed to stutter the charm and the two figures began to play patty cake. Some of the class managed a chuckle at seeing their Potions teacher playing such a childish game with a woman they could only guess had been his wife, but most just coughed uncomfortably. Weasley still appeared to be too stunned to do or say anything so the next students in line merely continued.

All too soon it was Snape's turn. He felt his breath quicken, but just reminded himself that whatever came out didn't matter, was not real and he need only name the charm and it would go away. That did not prepare him at all. The Bogart distorted itself from the giant worm covered in lace that it had been a moment before and shifted a few times, as if deciding what would be appropriate for Snape. It reminded him of being under the Sorting Hat. The bloody thing had mumbled about bravery and intelligence for a while, though it very smartly did not mention any qualities that might imply he go to Hufflepuff. In the end, Snape thought, the hat had chosen wisely. And when the Bogart assumed its shape, he knew it had too. For there was nothing he could have feared more.


	2. Step Two: Heat Water to Boiling

_Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Oh god…_

Snape stepped back. He felt himself shaking. In front of his class. He didn't care.

"_Where were you? I waited for you. Why? Why did you leave? Why did you leave me? Why did you leave me with him? It doesn't matter. Because now… now you are alone. Alone. With him."_

Harry heard the shouts coming from Ron's classroom. He'd mentioned proudly the Bogarts he was planning on impressing the first years with, so Harry had thought he'd use his free period to step in and see how it was going. What he hadn't expected was to see Severus Snape, wand pointed forward, shaking uncontrollably. And he most certainly had not expected to watch a badly beaten and bleeding woman sinking slowly in front of him, all the while screaming words of blame and accusation at the eleven year old boy.

"_You've killed me. I gave you everything! Sacrificed everything! And you've killed me! I loved you. Now there is no one left. No one left to love you. No one left to love. No one!"_

Harry flinched at the words. This had gone far enough. "Ridiculus" he growled and the dying woman became a dancing dementor. With a lightly aimed patronus the dementor was pushed back into the closet from whence the Bogart had appeared and Harry locked it. He turned angrily to Ron. "What is wrong with you! How could you let this happen?" he whispered so that only the two of them could hear. He thought he heard Ron stutter something about spiders and Cho but he decided it didn't matter at the moment.

"Mister Snape. Come with me."

The young boy blinked, still shaking, and nodded weakly. He followed and not even the Gryffindors had the gal to make a sound.

Snape was breathing in short gasps, so Harry decided to slow his pace a bit. Ahead Malfoy watched them progress down the hall.

"Hey, Prince, what's wrong?" he called, but the first year was too focused on the simple acts of walking and breathing to dare attempt a response or even care. After what seemed like an eternity to Snape, they stopped. He hadn't paid attention to where they'd been headed but he could tell by the cold air filling his lungs that they were in the dungeons. Professor Potter muttered something in a hiss that in the back of Snape's mind he realized must have been a password to his office in Parseltongue. He had read about the famed connection between Potter and Voldemort and one of the results had been a forced initiation into the language of snakes. Not that it mattered now. Now Severus had to breathe.

"Take this" Harry said soothingly as he handed the boy a vile from a shelf. They were now in his office, and Harry went to light a fire as Snape drank the relaxant potion (he was proud to see that the boy checked the label and smell before drinking it, though was also bothered by the blatant mistrust it showed).

"Sit down Mister Snape. We need to have a talk."

"I froze up. It's not like I'm the only one. _James_ didn't do much better." Snape hissed venomously. Harry frowned. "This isn't an attack on you Snape. No one doubts your ability. In fact I haven't found one teacher who can deny you as their top student."

Severus harrumphed at that. He hadn't been fishing for compliments or anything. Not that Potter had said anything he didn't know. "So what _is_ this about, Professor?" he asked smoothly.

"I want you to tell me about your family."

"… What?"

"Your home life. Tell me about it."

The first year sat with his mouth gaping. "NO! You have no authority to ask me that. I don't have to answer you."

Harry sighed. He'd hoped the boy would be too upset to make this difficult. Maybe he should have asked the questions before giving him the potion.

"You're right," he began slowly, "you don't have to answer. But I'd like you to. I think it's very important. You know all about Bogarts I'm sure. Know the mechanics of how to defeat them too I'll bet. Even before Professor Weasley's class you probably knew the spell and the how and why of the things the Bogart does."

"So what if I did?"

"It is important to know how to face a Bogart. But it is more important to be _able_ to face it. I want you to talk to me about yours. Why did you freeze? Who was she?"

Of course Harry knew perfectly well who she was. Or rather, who she must be. But Snape only shrank further into the large leather chair on the other side of the fire and refused to look at anything but the flames.

"Okay. How about we try something else. Today I will tell you about my home life before I left for Hogwarts, and tomorrow you will come to my office and tell me about yours."

"What a stupid idea" Snape drawled. The warmth of the fire seemed to have given him some strength because he sat straighter and glared fiercely at his professor. "Why would I care about hearing your family life from you? I could open any of the hundreds of books about you and learn it all from there."

What shocked Snape was the laughter that followed his statement. He reviewed his words in his head. Nothing that should have earned even a grin let alone the hoots of amusement that escaped Potter's mouth.

Recovering, he choked out "I'm sure you've read at least one or two of those 'hundreds' of books about me, right?"

"Twelve."

"Then I'm sure you've noticed the absence of any detail about my family life. The vagueness. The implications without any real evidence or recounts. No one knows but myself and a few chosen friends. But I'm willing to share it with you if you will return the favor. And… you know, not run to the press."

Severus considered this a moment. His inner Slytherin was telling him to agree for the juicy bit of gossip, the knowledge of which would probably work to his advantage at some future point. But something entirely different, perhaps the Gryffindor part of him that the Hat and been mumbling about, told him that he needed to agree in order to learn about his teacher. To allow him a secret. To let him in closer.

"Does… does James know?" Snape finally choked out.

Harry shook his head "I've kind of… avoided mentioning it… maybe when he's older –"

"I'll do it."

That day Severus Snape learned the truth about Harry Potter.

- - - - -

Severus Snape twitched uncomfortably in his seat and changed positions, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward. He had just finished recounting everything he could think relevant about his family life to his Potions Master and was now waiting for a response.

He'd told Professor Potter about his father, the muggle, who was at loath to discover that his wife was a witch and, apparently his son a wizard. But he didn't loath it enough not to use it to his advantage. Making his mother use her powers to fuel his gambling and drinking habits. And when she could not do something, like predict winning lottery numbers, he would beat her. And for a reason unknown to him, his mother would never defend herself. Sometimes she said it was love – she could never hurt her love. But Severus was only confused by the idea that his mother could love the man that hurt her so.

That was the way of it until Snape turned eight years old and found that he could work his mother's wand. From that moment on he studied hexes and curses with almost every waking moment. It wasn't as if he had friends or acquaintances who could distract him since his father rarely let him or his mother out of the house. But by the time he was nine he could keep his father from hurting his mother, though he did not always come out so lucky. When he was ten he learned to manipulate the curses and hexes and even create his own. Necessity, after all, has always been the mother of invention.

"Well" Potter finally breathed out. "Well that certainly explains your proficiency at Defense Against the Dark Arts, but how do you account for the potions skills you seem to have?"

Snape grinned, "Potions is the easiest class. I don't understand how someone can be bad at it."

"And why's that?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow but not bothering to hide the amusement in his voice.

"Because it's following instructions. Even if you know nothing, the steps are on the board. You follow them. How can people screw that up? And the homework you give us… even if I do not know the answers off the top of my head" here Snape decided to leave out the mention that he usually did lest his Professor decide it meant that he needed more challenge and thus more work "it would be a moment's work to look the answers and explanations up in our textbook."

Harry just stared at his student. "So" he said after a while "you're saying that my class is far too simple?"

"No. I'm saying it _should _be far too simple. But someone inevitably screws up irreparably each class so perhaps I'm simply missing the large hurdle that the other students face."

Letting out a chuckle Harry rose from his seat by the fire. "Okay, Snape, out of my office. I have detentions to distribute and children to terrorize."

"How Slytherin of you" Snape murmured as he left. Harry watched him go. Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned the bit about arguing with the Sorting Hat.

- - - - -

It was Christmas holiday. Snape slumped down in the empty common room with the copy of seventh year potions he'd taken from the library. He had been relieved when he hadn't received a reply from home about staying home for the break. But he thought of his mother briefly and wondered if she'd been punished for it or if the old man had been glad to avoid another moment with him. His mother had owled him twice in the three and a half months Severus had been at school and both messages had been the same: _I'm fine, don't worry._

Snape shuddered to think of the underlying meaning there. The reason for their briefness and the implication that there was something he might have been worrying about, though he and his mother had never formally addressed the abuse.

Rolling his eyes, Snape slammed the book shut. Why were the first five chapters _always_ a review? As if students didn't keep their books from the year before and were too dense to think of looking back. Instead they apparently needed a new book with the same information.

He tossed the book back onto the chair after rising from it. Severus allowed himself to stretch; the tight black t-shirt he allowed himself to wear (now that there were no classes or students around) rode up as he did so.

"Not bad, Prince. If you got some muscle you'd have a pretty hot body."

Snape looked over and decided to ignore Malfoy's words. "I thought you were going home" he asked instead.

"I was. My dad had to go somewhere. Ministry work you know." Snape snorted at that. More like Draco had found someone new that needed blackmailing. He was infamous for his "transactions" with the Ministry, but somehow always avoided getting caught.

"You know… I think this is the first time I've ever seen you in normal clothing. You're almost always in your school uniform."

Snape shrugged. He wasn't about to offer up the information that he didn't own much and what he did own was small on him from the last time he'd actually gotten something new. But Lucius narrowed his eyes and seemed to come to some conclusion of his own anyway. With a grin he leaned down and transfigured Severus' pants from too-small trousers into baggy black pants that hung over his boots and slid down to his lower hips. There were belts crisscrossing at seemingly random points, with a larger studded belt at the top. Pockets that also looked randomly placed hung bulkily to the sides. Malfoy was pleased to see pink rush up to stain the young boy's pale cheeks.

"I can't go out like this!" he cried.

"Oh relax, no ones around this week anyway. And it's comfortable right? Let's go!"

And with that, Lucius steered Snape out the door and down to breakfast.

In the hallway Severus had convinced Malfoy to transfigure something of his under threat of retreating back to the common room and skipping breakfast all together. When they entered the dining hall there was one medium sized table a bit in front of the dais and the four house tables had been shoved to the sides. All eyes turned as the sound of jingling bells filled the room. Severus was quite pleased at the way his transfiguration had turned out. Lucius' hair tie was now a massive green and red bow with little tiny bells lining the underside. His shirt was of matching silk with the red and green swirling into each other dramatically. A large red belt with green trim on the edges hung from his waist with more little bells and one huge one at the center.

"Aren't you embarrassed as a Malfoy to wear this?" Snape had asked once he'd finished, noticing how Lucius was admiring his work.

Lucius merely scoffed. "I'm a Malfoy. I can do what I want. But you went a little overboard so I get to add a few more things."

The eyes in the main hall darted back and forth between Malfoy and Snape, trying to take it all in. Harry almost choked when he saw Snape's spiked collar, tank top and the silver snake arm bracelet that hung on his right shoulder. Beside him, James looked as if he wanted to gag and laugh and sneer all at once, but instead just managed to look vaguely bewildered.

"Why did you convince me to do this?" Snape hissed.

"Because it's fun! And unlike you I only have two more years here to enjoy myself," Lucius replied happily.

"Sit down sit down!" cried Dumbledore happily, easily breaking the tension. "How are you two! What marvelous clothing – how spirited of you Mister Malfoy!"

Malfoy grinned "why my young friend here was so kind as to transfigure them for me."

Dumbledore beamed "quite impressive for a first year. You must be Severus Snape – I've heard the staff's praises of you over many meetings!"

Lucius saw pinking rising into Severus' sallow cheeks once again and grinned. The grin faded as he glanced across the table. It seemed the blush had caught someone else's eye as well. How interesting.


	3. Step Three: Add Sodium Chloride

Lucius waited until his new pursuit seemed about finished with breakfast. By now most of the students had run off to their common rooms. James in particular had given Snape a meaningful glare before leaving, but Severus had ignored him and Lucius supposed that without his friends James was of no threat anyway. Not that he mattered. There was someone far more interesting at the table.

Finally Malfoy grabbed Snape's shoulder. "Come on Prince. Let's go." Snape looked up but instead of arguing simply shrugged and followed the jingling bells out of the hall.

"Why are we going down to the dungeons?"

"We aren't. Hold on." Malfoy looked down at the eleven year old. This was going to be too easy. He waited until he was sure he heard light footsteps stop and shuffle themselves in a dark corner nearby. Then he smirked and bent to his knees in front of the confused boy.

"Malfoy… what are you doing?" Snape practically squealed, his cheeks now darkening from pink to red. Lucius licked his lips.

"I think" he began, fingers lightly stroking Severus' stomach, "that you would look great with a navel piercing."

Severus gasped under the feel of fingers on his skin. "A navel piercing?" he murmured. He could imagine what his father would do with _that_ once he was home for the summer, no longer allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts. He could feel the ripping flesh already… or was that real? "HEY!" he cried, trying to twist away from Malfoy. But one strong arm was holding his hips in place and the other was pressing a needle carefully into the skin just above his bellybutton.

In a moment it was over and Lucius had replaced the needle with a beautiful jeweled charm that hung as if it were a Christmas ornament. The jewel itself was a dazzlingly deep red ruby with spikes coming out behind it in every direction. Some were made of gold and others white gold giving it the look of a stylized sun. Snape let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding and saw a drop of blood, the same color as the ruby, slide down his stomach.

Malfoy leaned in and licked up his abdomen until it was gone. Rising at last he leaned over Severus who was now pressed flat against the wall. Speaking directly into his ear, Lucius whispered "make sure to use a cleaning spell on it twice a day. You can go now. But don't take it out." Still stunned, Snape nodded and shakily headed in the direction of the dorms. Malfoy looked directly at the dark corner of the hall. He couldn't see anyone, but was positive he was there. He licked his lips in what would be considered a very inappropriate manner for a Malfoy and then smirked haughtily before striding away in the same direction Snape had taken off in.

Shivering slightly, Harry stepped out of the shadows, removing the invisibility cloak as he did so. Malfoy had been playing with him. He shook his head. But how had Malfoy known his own thoughts before he had? Well, there was no mistaking it now. Every sound out of the young boy's mouth had gone straight to his cock. And Harry knew that, had he been in Malfoy's position, _piercing _the boy would not have been one of the many things that would have come to mind when his knees in front of Severus. Harry shook his head. The boy was a _student_ and his _son's age_ and it was _inappropriate _and _wrong _and _illegal _and perverted and _so bad._

And _delicious_ and _exciting_ and _intoxicating_… And Harry definitely needed a cold shower.

- - - - -

Snape looked down at the obviously expensive navel ornament. He frowned. What had that been all about! There were so many things wrong with that scene he barely knew where to begin. There was the most basic fact that Malfoys were not exactly known for their generosity. Then again, maybe Lucius had a piercing fetish and letting Snape keep the jewel was his form of payment.

Ignoring that, Lucius had made sure they were near the stairs to the potions dungeons before doing it, while the entrance to the Slytherin common room was much closer to the Main Hall. If he had wanted privacy they could have gone to the common room because they were the only Slytherins still there with the exception of a few, and they had slept in for breakfast anyway. Snape frowned. Malfoy had been very dramatic about the whole thing. Or did it just seem that way because he'd been so overwhelmed at the time? If not… could someone have been watching? Or was he actually attempting to seduce Severus?

Each idea seemed as improbable as the next. If someone were watching, why would he want them to see a scene like that? And attempting to seduce Severus was a ridiculous notion when talking about one of the best looking and most popular boys in their house. Malfoy could (and had) dated anyone he desired at Hogwarts.

Frustrated and sure that he was missing something important, Severus muttered a cleaning spell on the reddening skin of his bellybutton and decided to change into something warm and go for a walk. The cold air would no doubt help clear his mind and stop the blood from rushing to his cheeks every time he thought over the events of that morning.

- - - - -

Christmas morning found Severus being shaken awake by a laughing Malfoy. "Get up you lazy bum. I can only be nice to you while the rest of the school is gone, so you'd better wake up and revel in the time we spend together as chums."

Snape raised his head slightly. "Fuck off."

"Not a morning person, eh? Not a problem at all." And with that Malfoy picked him up and all but chucked him to the ground. While he cursed in a heap of blanket and flailing limbs, Lucius took this moment to appreciate the fact that the first year chose to sleep in his boxers.

"Why did you throw me out of bed? What is WRONG with you!" Severus all but screamed.

"It's Christmas morning – don't you want to see your gifts?"

Severus frowned. He'd never gotten gifts before. Not really. On Christmas day his mother would sing softly, and that had always been enough for him. Now he glanced at the foot of the bed and found actual packages. Not many, but they were there.

"Pitiful little pile you have. I practically got a mountain's worth"

Snape didn't care. He had presents! He went for a little crumpled brown package first. Lucius snorted at it, but Snape ignored him. Opening it he almost fainted when he saw what it contained. His mother's silver bangle, wrapped around two translucent yellow stones that glowed beautifully. He remembered when his father had wanted to sell it. His mother had insisted that it had been broken and lost years before. But here it was – his mother's most treasured item, a family heirloom just for him.

Putting it on, he stared into the stone until Malfoy made his presence known by guiding his hand to the other two gifts that sat there. His hand was placed upon a green one with silver ribbons. Opening it carefully, Severus was stunned to see what appeared to be a shrunken trunk.

"Go on, then."

Snape nodded and unshrunk it with a flick of his wand. The trunk was large and painted black with purple swirls painted along the edges. Severus opened it and gasped as he found the trunk filled to the brim with meticulously folded piles of clothing.

"I got the house elves to send them over. They're from my first year. I'll never wear them again and Malfoys don't _do_ hand-me-downs. Thought you might though."

Severus heard the mocking tone of voice but was far too deeply touched to take any offense by it. He couldn't wait to go through the trunk and feel the expensive materials against his skin.

"Well don't keep staring at it – I want to see what's in the last one!" Malfoy chided. Severus silently agreed and, closing the trunk, sat next to the final package. This one was wrapped in lavender paper and inside sat a beautiful bottle made of dark frosted blue glass with a black ribbon tied around it. There was liquid within the small container and a note that read: "_A challenge for the bored student. Figure out what this bottle contains. When you do, come to me and I will grant you one wish (if it is within my power to fulfill it). If this is not motivation enough, know that if you do not discover the identity of the liquid by the end of the year, I will be requiring the fulfillment of my own wish from you. Rise to the challenge because failure is most unbecoming. Owl me by the end of the day if you accept these terms. – Harry J. Potter"_

Snape stared at the letter.

"He must really like you."

Severus looked at Lucius with a raised eyebrow, "why ever would you say that?"

"Just look, he didn't write 'Professor' before his name. Shall we go to breakfast then?"

Severus could only nod.

- - - - -

James glared menacingly at the filthy Slytherin across the room. With his oily hair and big nose, it was easy to find him physically unappealing. And his personality was worse. The louse was a stupid overachiever and never spoke to anyone without insulting them. Not even his own house seemed to like him! And worst of all, James' father seemed to think he was great! Always complimenting his potions and talking with him after class. Everyone knew Snape's potions were perfect; his dad had NO business reminding him every bloody class. And there was something more. Sometimes, James could swear he caught the Slytherin actually giving their Potions Master a _smile_. Severus Snape didn't smile!

A grin spread to James' lips. It was just as well; the Slytherin at the front of the room hadn't noticed the quite frightening (if James did say so himself) glower that had been directed at his back for most of the class period.

Serius leaned away from the cauldron that sat between them. "You'd better have a damn good idea by the time class is over, because I don't make a habit of taking more work on than I need to.

"Don't worry. This will be good. Perhaps if we start with a little drop of snake's venom…"

James pulled a vile out from his bag. He rarely looked at the ingredients lists before the lesson and instead had gotten into the habit of carrying his entire potions supply with him to every class.

Getting up from his seat, James strolled past Snape's cauldron. The git was already done and leaving it to stew! And WORSE than that, he was already half way through the homework for next week! Unnerved, James almost forgot to toss in the small amount of liquid he carried. Vile hidden under the large sleeve of his cloak, he was sure no one had noticed the gesture.

"Fa – er… Professor Potter, I was wondering if you had more Eye of Newt in your stores."

"Mister Potter, not only should you have more than enough of your own seeing as how we've only used it twice so far this year, it is not required for the potion and thus not relevant. If you would kindly take your seat."

The small embarrassment he felt at being reprimanded in front of his classmates was nothing compared to the utter glee of anticipation that was taking over his senses. Any minute now… there it was.

Snape looked up from his homework. Bubbling. Why was his cauldron bubbling? It should have been simmering quietly until the end of class. Peaking over the edge, he saw that his potion had gone from dark green to bright orange. He wracked his brain for what could have caused this transformation. Obviously something must have been added… and the best way to cancel the acidity and increased volatility was… eye of newt.

Looking to the back of the classroom Snape saw the Potter boy and Black grinning happily back at him. Lupin had been ill that day, but Snape pictured him grinning along with the other two and only the loud thrashings of his potion forced him back to his seat. With a sigh he began searching his bag for eye of newt and the few other ingredients that might counteract whatever Potter had thrown in there.

Harry glared at James but said nothing. He hadn't caught him in the act and wasn't going to reprimand him because he was smiling nastily at Snape. However much he'd like to. With a sign he turned to the young Slytherin who was now scrambling through his bag, picking out ingredients. He couldn't deny his eagerness to see if the boy would be able to undo the effects of James' mischief. Looking at the potion alone would narrow the mystery substance down to about ten possibilities. From there, it was mostly guesswork and observing the reactions to each new ingredient that Snape might add. There were ten minutes left in class. If anything, this would be good preparation for how he might go about discovering what was in the vile Harry had given him for Christmas. He'd gotten an owl back at noon accepting the challenge. Now, a month later, Snape was much closer than Harry might have guessed he could get. But it was a very complex potion, and he still doubted it would be solved before school ended.

Snape glanced nervously at the clock at the back of the room. He had ten minutes to get the potion back to its original state. It wasn't as if a poor mark on it would affect his grade at all. But Severus could feel his professor's eyes on him and knew that this would be seen as a test. Sighing, he dropped in some salamander solution and gritted his teeth when the potion became covered in light blue foam.

Well that narrowed it down to six possibilities. Of the remaining, two were illegal, so that left four. Raccoon saliva, rose elixir, snake venom or bat talons. Snape knew there wasn't time to figure out the counter mixture of each one in relation to this particular potion and then negate their effects as well if he was wrong. But there wasn't much else he could do. He absentmindedly clicked his tongue in frustration and glanced at his professor who had now shifted his gaze and looked like he wanted to throttle James right then and there. That comforted Severus a bit, and decided the he aught to just try his luck with a guess at which ingredient would work.

Considering the four remaining possibilities, Snape almost groaned out loud in frustration. On top of everything, his newly pierced skin was itching like mad. Why had had just freezed up like that when Malfoy had cornered him? And why hadn't he just taken the damned thing out after?

And what was that sound!

Snape looked up to see Professor Potter muttering harshly under his breath as he strode to one of the Gryffindors who had managed to burn a hole through the bottom of his cauldron. Severus' lips quirked in realization. His professor was cursing under his breath in Parseltoungue! Turning back to his potion he now had no doubt which ingredient it was going to be. After all, a Gryffindor would no doubt see snake's venom as fitting for a Slytherin. With two minutes left in the period, Severus dug though his bag until he recovered a tiny vial marked "extract of mongoose". Measuring out a few drops, Snape signed in relief as the potion suddenly calmed and regained its previous green and docile state. Sniffing at it, he was pleased to note that not a trace of the non-relevant ingredients could be found in his potion. Feeling a body leaning over his, Severus glanced up at his Potions Master.

Harry knew he shouldn't. He should ignore everything that had transpired there. But the look of utter relief on Snape's face drew him over. He allowed himself to press against the young boys back, though only for a moment. Stirring with his wand he looked down at his student.

"Perfect as usual, Mister Snape. Though I can't imagine why you would have needed extract of mongoose for this particular potion." In the back of the room James fell off his bench.


	4. Step Four: Add All that Will Dissolve

"Think you're smart, do you? Think you're _oh so bloody clever._" James hissed. "You _snake._"

"Indeed. And thank you for so kindly supplying my venom," Snape smirked.

James glared. Who did this greasy git think he was!

Severus suddenly didn't feel much like gloating. Not as he took in his current position, underneath the staircase of the potions side of the dungeons, cornered by Potter and Black with a small crowd of Gryffindors and Slytherins watching them eagerly.

While Slytherins usually looked out for one another as Malfoy had told him on his second day in the castle, Snape knew he did not have the best reputation among them. Maybe he should stop hexing anyone that got too loud in the common room… Severus reached for his wand.

"I take it back."

"What?" Snape's attention snapped away from the onlookers, back to the young Gryffindor in front of him.

"I said I take it back," he grinned, "you're no snake. You're a dog. A bitch. Malfoy's bitch, actually."

Snape tried to back up, but was prevented by the wall. Shit. If only he could get around Potter to the stairs or even the door to the classroom…

"Well it's too bad for him," James continued, "Because you're going to be _my_ bitch now!"

Severus choked as his tie was yanked forward and transfigured into a collar very similar to the one Lucius had conjured for him over Christmas break. The only noticeable differences were that this one still retained the tie's original green and silver stripes. And was connected to a leash. A leash which James now yanked forward, sending Snape slamming onto the cold stone floor and his wand clattering across the hall noisily.

He had a moment to be thankful that he had cast an anti-crack spell on all the jars in his bag before Severus felt a hand pull his chin up roughly and a wand poke into his neck. Glancing up, he saw James mutter a spell he didn't recognize. But from the sound of it… Snape attempted to curse and instead heard a distinctly canine growl instead. Black laughed mercilessly. "Never thought it would come in handy when you stumbled onto _that _spell!"

Snape tried to rise but Sirius barked out a partial immobility spell. Falling back down, Severus felt himself being restricted to all fours. He tried to sigh in frustration but, to his utter mortification, it came out as a dog's whimper. The Gryffindors roared with laughter and the Slytherins snickered unsympathetically. Severus guessed that they would be laughing harder and perhaps even participating if they didn't fear retaliation later from himself or Lucius.

Making him feel worse than any of the embarrassments had so far were the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. Blinking them back, Severus stared at the ground and another whine escaped his throat.

James leaned down and pulled Snape's head up by his hair. "You've been a bad dog."

Severus heard himself yelp as the burning hex attached itself to his left forearm, but he was in too much pain to care. Had he been in a more focused state of mind he surely would have noticed the alterations that James had made to the usually basic spell. But at this moment "FUCK! _OW_! FUCK!" was the extent of his thought process.

"_JAMES H. POTTER what exactly do you think you're doing?"_

Harry was mad. No, furious. No, _ablaze with anger_. That his son was torturing a student was bad enough without the added insult of doing so right outside his classroom!

Striding over, Harry looked down to see whichever student his son had been traumatizing. He was less than surprised to see ebony black eyes looking miserably up at him. However, he _was_ surprised by the blush he acquired from seeing the boy on all fours, tied to a Slytherin colored leash and collar. He decided not to think about it; the students would attribute it to a flush of rage anyway.

"Out. I want everyone OUT. Except you three," he barked, glancing at Snape, then pinning his son and Black with a glare when he saw them inch towards the staircase.

"Whoever cast the immobility spell, undo it _now._"

Black mumbled the counter spell and Snape carefully rose, inspecting his forearm as he did so. Instead of the scorched patch of skin he was expecting, Snape found a carefully outlined Gryffindor lion.

"Mister Snape, if you would kindly tell me what happened here. From the beginning, please."

"…"

"Mister Snape, I'd like to help you but I am unable to do so without knowing the whole story."

Severus, clearly annoyed, opened his mouth to say something and, instead of words, let out an angry bark. Then, pink with embarrassment, pointed accusingly at James.

"Oh. James, would you take off the spell already? And change his tie back while you're at it."

Grumbling, the younger Potter did as he was told. Once he was able to speak, Snape turned to face his professor. "They cornered me, and Potter said… said he'd 'make me his bitch' and then they did that to me" he concluded, giving a meaningful look to the floor.

"And it didn't occur to you to fight back?"

"Don't you think you're blaming the victim here? Dueling isn't allowed in the hallways, Professor."

"I don't recall you ever adhering to that rule before, even with other Slytherins."

"I… also might have dropped my wand early on."

"Okay, Mister Snape, you are dismissed. Ten points to Slytherin for not retaliating and sticking to the rules about magic in the halls."

Walking hurriedly, Snape grabbed his bag then stopped, eyes surveying the hall.

"Yes, Mister Snape?"

"My wand… it rolled into that corner there, but it's gone…"

Harry frowned. Losing a wand was no small matter. Especially for someone that seemed to attract trouble like this particular student. "Go to dinner, and come back when you've finished. We'll look for it then."

"Thank you, Professor."

Harry watched the young Slytherin stalk away in frustration, his cloak swirling ominously making it seem as though the draft of the dungeons were really heavy gusts of wind. That kid would be intimidating as hell if he ever got to a decent height.

Turning, Harry glared down at his son. "What were you thinking? You tamper with his potion," James visibly flinched, "you threaten him, harass him, and _burn_ him. Would you like to tell me what, exactly, was motivating you?"

"But Dad, you don't get it! And I can't believe you're taking his side!"

"First of all, don't call me 'Dad' because right now I am your professor and you will treat me as such. Secondly, I'm not taking sides I'm calling it as I see it. And finally, you're right. I don't get it. So explain. Now."

"You'll never understand _Professor_. It's him! He doesn't talk to anyone, he doesn't get along with anyone – all he does is hex people and make fun of everyone. Even Uncle Ron agrees!"

"That's _Professor Weasley_, and the difference is that _he_ does not attempt to accost Mister Snape in the hallways. Not that you two should be discussing one of his students anyway."

Harry glared at the two boys. James didn't seem at all concerned with what he'd just done to another student and Sirius looked more upset that they'd been caught than anything.

Harry sighed. "Fifty points from Gryffindor."

"WHAT!"

"Each. And detention every night this week with Filch."

"DAD!"

"Another five points every time you call me that."

"_Professor…_"

"And I would like twenty inches from each of you about why what you did was wrong, as well as a list, in addition to that essay, that describes every rule you broke starting with tampering with another student's potion. Go to dinner you two. Your detentions will be from eight to ten starting tomorrow and for the next seven school days."

James and Sirius groaned and trudged up the stairs.

- - - - -

Snape walked briskly down the hall towards the Slytherin common room. A thorough search of the hallway had yielded nothing by way of his wand. Not to mention the awkwardness he felt in getting so much help from his teacher when the professor's son was the one he was being saved from!

"How fucked _up_ my life is," he muttered under his breath before entering the common room – and coming face to face with the rest of the Slytherin first years. He tried to shrug past them but they circled around, not letting him through.

"Do you _want_ something?"

"It seems" drawled a fairly popular boy named Greg who stood directly in front of him, "that we have something _you_ want, actually."

This caught his attention even before he saw the positively large boy behind Greg hold up his wand, dangling so obviously out of Snape's reach that he didn't bother lunging for it as the bulky student seemed to be expecting him to.

"Is there a reason you've taken my wand, other than that you know you'd stand no chance against me under normal circumstances?" Snape chided. While Slytherins usually lived up to their reputations in cheating and conning others, they would hardly admit to doing so because they'd be unable to succeed otherwise. Greg was no exception. Huffing, he snatched the wand out of the other boy's hand and chucked it at Severus.

"Like _hell_ I'd stand no chance! Just because you suck up to the teachers doesn't mean you _actually _have any skill!"

"Actually," Snape smiled evilly, "that's precisely what it means."

As he stepped into his dorm room, Snape spared a moment to wonder who would undo the stunning spell on the fifteen boys now lying in front of the common room entrance. Shrugging, he stripped to his boxers and, climbing into bed, decided that it was no longer his concern. He made a conscious decision to sleep with his wand under his pillow from that day on.

- - - - -

"Not paying attention, Snape?"

Severus glanced up from his potion. He frowned at his Professor.

"Why, am I doing something wrong?"

Professor Potter leaned over him and grabbed his student's wrist in his hand.

Snape glanced down, trying not to marvel at how much smaller his own hand was. He was small, but his mother had always said that he'd be tall when he came of age. All the Princes were.

Potter prevented his arm from finishing the stroke it had been making as he stirred.

"Counter clockwise, Mister Snape," the Potions Master explained, guiding his wrist in the opposite direction.

"Oh…" Severus muttered, suddenly bothered by his proximity to his teacher.

Harry moved to help some other students, when a little paper airplane sailed onto Snape's table. Glancing back, he saw that James was glaring at him intently. Snape unfolded what must have been torn out of the other student's notebook. Scowling, he found a stick figure scrawled onto the bit of paper, the head malformed so that a large nose encompassed the majority of it. Typical.

James smirked, feeling very pleased with himself. That was, until he saw the piece of paper fly back to him, folded perfectly into the shape of a lion being chocked to death by a snake. The lion twitched weakly until James growled and ripped it open. The paper resumed it's normal shape and inside he found, next to his stick figure, an elaborate drawing of himself, Lupin and Black. Lupin was leaning over and looked like he was on his deathbed, Black was grinning stupidly and James himself had exaggeratedly messy hair and glasses that were quite a few sizes too large.

With a grimace he scribbled a speech bubble above his original drawing that said "I 3 the dark arts!" and tossed it across the room after making sure his father was once again at his desk, head down and grading papers. A few moments later it was chucked back at him, now just a crumpled ball. Above the threesome, a word bubble lead from each of them that said "We 3 gay sex!"

Sirius looked over and dropped his ladle. "What! That little…!" Ripping a page out of his own notebook, he drew another stick figure, similar to James' original Snape drawing. This one was surrounded by taller figures, and was kissing their robes. "SUCK UP" was written in bold letters above them.

Only a moment after it was sent over, James felt some paper bounce off his head. Uncrumpling it, he found a doodle titled "The Potters". This time, instead of the detailed drawings he saw a stick figure not unlike the ones he and Sirius had drawn, but with giant glasses and black hair spiking out of the head at every angle. Next to the sketch of himself, was a taller version of the same drawing, the only difference being a red lightning shape splitting the small space left between hair and glasses. Gritting his teeth, James sent back a drawing of Snape, once again on all fours, on a leash connected to a long blonde-haired stick figure. Above he titled it "Snape's Only Friend". James almost laughed out loud when he saw his father look up and walk towards Snape, who for his part, was hard at work on his next piece of artwork.

"MISTER SNAPE!"

Severus looked up, face reddening in embarrassment. "Uhm… yes sir?"

Harry snatched the crumbled sheet of paper out of his students hand and had to stop himself from cursing and laughing out loud at the same time. First was a doodle of Snape, surrounded by teachers, kissing their feet. Then a drawing of himself and his son in stick figure form. Next to that, Snape was being led on a leash by Malfoy. But it was the last, though unfinished, picture that made him hold back his mix of irritation and amusement. It showed more stick figures of himself and James. Both were on all fours and it looked like he was actively shoving… was that his SCAR! … into… into his son's… What was _wrong_ with first years nowadays!

Harry made sure to pocket the sheet of paper and a second note he found a moment later on James' desk – he would defiantly have to show these to Ron. It reminded him of the notes they passed during their own potions classes… though the drawings were usually about Draco and his "relationship" with Voldemort. Potions really was the perfect class for passing notes, considering all that time spent waiting for the potions to simmer.

"Mister Snape, I think this earns you three detentions for this week. And twenty points from Slytherin for vulgarity. Mister Potter, please stop laughing as you will also be serving those detentions. Though I will only take ten points, seeing as how you were less… creative with your drawings."


End file.
